Would you keep this dog? (Beagle pics)

[TartanHare]

I have been doing a bit of dog sitting on and off for various friends and neighbours recently.
2 weeks ago I recieved a message asking me if I could have a beagle as it was being unruly whilst the family had visitors with young children, I look after this dog fairly often so told them just to bring him round.
They have now said that they don't want him back.
He is 11 months old, he has a lovely nature but is very enthusiastic about everything and needs a LOT of training.
My own dog is almost 4 years old colliexlab. I also have cats.
I have been told beagles can be challenging and I cant walk them together alone. They pull! DH is v on board in theory and is pushing to give him a home here.
However I know in reality the bulk of the work will fall to me.
Questions: How trainable are beagles?
Is it true they can never be trusted off lead?
Are they generally ok with cats? (he seems ok supervised) but keep separate when I'm not about.
I know the sensible answer is to take him to the dogs home or try to rehome him, but he's lying here curled up and snoring and my heart has melted
Maybe I could make this work

[Mrscropley]

Yabu if you think you could part with him now op. . .

[SpareChangeDownTheSofa]

Rehome him if you want but you need to get signed documented proof that he now belongs to you. You need to ensure you change the chip details over to you.

Many times people give their dogs away and then want them back at a later date after the new owners have had them a while.

Love him though, he's so cute!

[stillvicarinatutu]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

gwan. you know you want to.....

[TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge]

Keep him! Beagles are awesome and fun dogs. They're totally controlled by smells and food, which is very handy for training. When I had a Beagle I only had to open a jar of peanut butter for him to come running and be at my mercy

[BackieJerkhart]

Beagles are entirely controlled by their noses!

Wrt to the pulling, can't you train it out of them?

[StaplesCorner]

Wow - if I open a jar of peanut butter my dog would want to know if it was smooth or crunchy and would there be toast too, otherwise I can stick it!

So I think its good they are sooo food orientated - my neighbour had one and it was often pictured cuddling the resident cat.

[iamapixiebutnotaniceone]

Beagles are ALOT of work, they are very intelligent and really quite easy to train. They thrive on if actually! Most have terrible recall though so have to be kept on a lead. They are very smelly and very noisy too, much more than your average dog!

[TartanHare]

sparechange Good point re: the legal stuff.
I will ensure that is all taken care of.

Backie I fully intend to train him to lead walk nicely, It took me a while with ddog and he's still not brilliant. We live near woodland/parkland though and his recall is pretty perfect. Ddog tries it on when beagle is about though.

[BackieJerkhart]

Ddog tries it on when beagle is about though.

Showing off infront of her mate

[BackieJerkhart]

his mate!

[Crispbutty]

We had a beagle Staffie cross when I as a teen. We got him as a rescue and had him for 12 years. He was a loyal loving very intelligent dog.

He also had a very independent streak and pulled like hell. He was good with other dogs but his recall was atrocious. If he got the sniff of a rabbit while we were walking he would be off.

[TartanHare]

crispbuttie We have LOADS of rabbits round here!( & squirrels & foxes & waterbirds)

[TartanHare]

It's so not sensible!
If I'd wanted 2 dogs I would have researched and chosen the best dog at the best time for us.

Look at them though!!

[BLUEsNewSpringWatch]

He's claimed you 💕 and that sofa

In all seriousness, if you can afford to keep him and have the time and energy to train him, then keep him. If you can't afford to keep him or don't have time and energy to train then re-home. really hoping he's already got his new forever home

It is essential you make sure that you get proof he is 100% yours to keep though. You don't want owner suddenly demanding him back, once you've trained him - that really would be heart breaking. Also I don't know how the law officially stands but when giving/being given a horse, the advice is to not only get necessary paperwork to prove change of ownership but for a small token amount of money to be paid for the animal (literally like £1, £5, or £10) - it supposedly gives more rights than if no money changes hands. So I'd probably do the same with the dog.

[BLUEsNewSpringWatch]

It's so not sensible!
If I'd wanted 2 dogs I would have researched and chosen the best dog at the best time for us.

Sometimes life gives us what we 'need' before we even know we want it.

Plus those dogs look adorable together.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

My loaner beagle arrives tomorrow. We take him every few months for a couple of weeks. He is obsessed with food, really obsessed. My DH can't get him to do anything and I can by keeping a bag of treats on me at all times.

Can't be off leash and he pulls until he almost throws up. His owners have an anti-pull leash which works.

He's incredibly cute though!

[stillvicarinatutu]

those dogs were made to be together op.....

yes i know. training is a nightmare. beagles are hard work.

i still would.

[stillvicarinatutu]

they are quite driven by scent.....
i once had to stop on a 60 mph road for beagle .

get advice from a dog trainer. but i feel hes already yours op.....

[arousingcheer]

The sensible thing is to have a second dog who's beloved by your first dog and it looks like that part is sorted.

Might he improve with the use of a Halti? My young terrier used to pull and when I had a bad back it was agony, but after a short time with a Halti she improved so much I stopped using it.

[Orangebird69]

My ex bfs 3 ex working beagles were buggers out and about but were scared of my 2 cats and almost oblivious to the fact they shared their garden with 2 chickens and 2 guinea pigs - all free roaming in the day and never had an issue. Go for it!

[HesMyLobster]

I have a beagle and he's brilliant.
Completely food-obsessed but it does make training easy.
He has perfect re-call - better than any dog I've ever had including collies and a lab. (I suspect because he's always hopeful there might be a treat in it for him ) but he is very impressive.
He's extremely easy going, never met another dog or person that he doesn't get on with, and adores our cat and rabbit.
The only negative is, if there's something disgusting and smelly around, he'll definitely find it and definitely roll in it. Every. Time.
Luckily though he enjoys baths!

I agree with pp - often the most difficult part of bringing a second dog home is finding one your existing dog loves, and it looks like there are no problems there. I'd say you're on to a winner.

[TillyMint81]

I walk my beagle offlead. She's 90% good at recall. I use high value treats to get her to come back. There are several beagle pages on social media and some that organise local meets in enclosed dog fields so maybe look for those?
I think if you are prepared to take on the training you could end up with an amazing dog. Ours is still not 100% clean at night but we only got her when she was two, from the kennel she was born at so she missed a lot of training as a pup.
Good luck x

[LaurieFairyCake]

This is not what you want to hear

But your dog looks so utterly happy his mate is staying

[Bluntness100]

Sweetie you're screwed, congrats, you've now got two dogs....

[ToothTrauma]

He's chosen you sorry OP